Read on for some recent theatre headlines you may have missed in today's news.
Jonathan Groff Will Voice Toy Rabbit in Netflix Family Series
Casting has been announced for a new four-episode family series from Netflix and series creator Shannon Tindle. Lost Ollie is a live-action and animation hybrid series about a lost toy rabbit in search of his boy. Two-time Tony nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Spring Awakening), who is no stranger to animation voiceover having played Kristoff in Disney's Frozen films, will take on the role of Ollie, the lost rabbit. Recording artist Mary J. Blige and actor Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) voice a teddy bear and a clown doll who help Ollie on his journey, with Jake Johnson (New Girl), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), and Kesler Talbot appearing as the family. Tindle executive produces with 21 Laps Entertainment.
Ars Nova's Vision Residency Continues With Curator raja feather kelly
Obie-winning choreographer and director raja feather kelly curates the fourth slate of 2021 programming for the Ars Nova Vision Residency program, which invited seven artist-curators to create a month-long series with their own work as well as work by artists they champion and admire. All work is presented digitally via Ars Nova Supra livestream. First up is Light Journals, a virtual installation conceived and directed by Tuçe Yasak, on March 20. Thug, a dance film screening directed and choreographed by Tislarm Bouie, premieres on March 25. A reading of The Women (2021), created by L Morgan Lee and raja feather kelly, featuring work by Kirsten Childs, Dane Figueroa Edidi, Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Christine Toy Johnson, Bianca Leigh, Carmen LoBue, and Nia Witherspoon, will be presented April 8. Finally, Artifact, a listening and viewing party conceived and directed by raja feather kelly and Emily Wells, streams on April 9. For more, visit ArsNovaNYC.com.
Broadway On Demand Will Stream Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre Awards
The 31st annual Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre presentation ceremony will take place virtually this year on Broadway On Demand, March 15 at 7 PM ET. The awards will feature performances from the previously announced winners, lyricist Benjamin Scheuer and co-librettists Melissa Li and Kit Yan, and will be hosted by Tony Award winners and Kleban Foundation board members Richard Maltby Jr. and Maury Yeston. The application window for the 2022 Kleban Prize will open on March 19 and close at 5 PM ET on May 19. Guidelines for applying are available to view on New Dramatists’ website at NewDramatists.org.
Inaugural Cohort of Woolly Mammoth's Miranda Family Fellowship Program Announced
The D.C. theatre, in partnership with a lead gift from the Miranda Family Fund, has announced the first participants in the new fellows program aimed to help BIPOC candidates advance careers as arts administrators and theatre technicians. Autumn J. Mitchell, a freelance stage manager from Savannah, Georgia, will join the production department; Jeremy Pesigan, a Northwestern University grad with a BS in Theater and Asian American studies, joins the New Work department; and Citlali Pizarro, a Swarthmore College grad with a double-major in Theatre, focusing on social justice performance theory and practice, and an individualized major, Race and Gender in Education, will join the Connectivity department, which links Woolly’s artistic mission with its social and political mission through artistic programs, community engagement, and audience enrichment activities.
